Wessel Freytag von Loringhoven

Wessel Freiherr Freytag von Loringhoven ( Latvia , Courland , 22 as November as 1899 – Mauerwald , 26 as July as 1944 ) was a Baron ( Freiherr ) and military Latvian . After World War I , and reached the rank of colonel of the Wehrmacht , he was a member of Foreign Affairs of Military Intelligence linked to the Abwehr and conspirator in the July 20, 1944, attack on Hitler during World War II .

Biography

Wessel Freiherr Freytag von Loringhoven was born in Curland ( Latvia ) in the Baltic region at the end of the 19th century, belonged to the German nobility, his family roots came from an old German-Baltic family from the Westphalian region, grew up in the town Of Skulte and entered the Latvian army in 1918, forming rows in the 13th Infantry Regiment. In 1922, just founded the Republic of Latvia gained German citizenship and entered the Reichswehr .

In 1933, during the establishment of power on the part of Hitler , Von Loringhoven embraced the Nazi cause; But after the Night of the Long Knives in 1934, he became disenchanted with the Nazi ideology. Von Loringhoven became close friends with another military nobleman, Claus von Stauffenberg .

Already displaying the gallons of colonel, and forming part of the OKH like director of information and counterintelligence of the army, participated in 1941 in group B of the South Army, in Operation Barbarroja in the sector of Ukraine and soon in 1942 in Stalingrado being witness of The massacres of the Einsatzgruppen commandos and the failure of the capture of that city, which gave him strong reasons to become part of the military resistance against the Nazi regime. With the help of Admiral Wilhelm Canaris , the Abwehr became part of the OKW Intelligence in 1943.

In 1944, thanks to his contacts with the Abwehr , he provided the powerful explosives of English origin and chemical detonators to Claus von Stauffenberg when Operation Valkyrie was activated in July 1944. 1

The Putsch against Hitler failed on July 20, 1944, the unexploded bombshell was found in the accesses to Wolfsschanze and its origin traced by Ernst Kaltenbrunner , head of the Central Security Office of the Reich , who immediately suspected von Loringhoven. 2

Wessel von Loringhoven was at an OKW base in East Prussia very close to the scene of the bombing, in the Mauerwald region and being close to being detained by the security forces, committed suicide in a forest near his base on 26 Of July of 1944 leaving previously a letter of farewell to his wife.

In retaliation, his wife was separated from her four children, who were taken to an orphanage with a different surname, she was imprisoned and later in May 1945, she was released and reunited with them. Wessel von Loringhoven had a cousin named Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven who was supported by Hitler’s General Heinz Guderian and was occupant of Hitler’s führerbunker in Berlin until the last days of the regime.